Controlling means for knitting machines



March 28, 1 933. N. LEVIN 1.90 3

CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 24. 1931 e Sheet-Sheet 1 Z'mnentor BB I i March 28, 1933. N. LEVIN CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24

Zhwentor March 28, 1933. N. LEVIN CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 24, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Gttomcg CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 24, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Snventor I I I attorney March 28, 1933. I N. LEVIN I 1,902,

CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 24, '1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ISnvntor ji a/Z/za/n/ ZW,

(Ittorneg 1 March 28, 1933. N. LEVIN CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 24, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 NNN @ WRW G ttomeg Patented Mar. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NATHAN LEVIN, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO H. BRINTON COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA CONTROLLING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Application filed August 24, 1931.

My said invention relates to a controlling means for knitting machines and it is intended particularly for controllin the elements of a multiple feed dial an cylinder knitting machine of the type having a stationary needle cylinder and a stationary dial with revolving needle cams for the dial and cylinder needles, the mechanism bein designed particularly to control the di erent feeds so as to render them either active or inactive for horizontal striping.

A further object of the invention is to provide suitable controlling means for independently putting the cylinder cams or the 1 dial cams of one or more sets into and out of position for operating their respective needles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary control mechanism operable by .a single eccentric cam on a revolving element of the machine for individually either controlling both cylinder and dial needleadvancing cams at a feed or for separately controlling such cams, said control mechanism being also adapted for controlling other elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide common controlling means for the needle advancing cams in the cylinder and dial and for lowering a needle retracting cam to an abnormally-low level, as in making a selvage welt.

Another object is to provide improved actuating means 'for a trick wheel or equivalent pattern element. 7

Referring to the drawings which are made a part of this application and in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a partial vertical section of a machine having my improvements applied thereto,

Fig. 2, a plan of a knitting head, showing certain needle cams and control mechanisms therefor,

Fig. 3, an elevation of cam control mechanism at a feed,

Fig. 4, an elevation showing cam control mechanism at a different feed and on a reduced scale,

Serial No. 559,077.

Fig. 5, a developed view showing the arrangement of abutments forming parts of the controllin cams in a mu tiple feed machine,

Fig. 6, a developed view of cylinder cams at two of the feeds, looking outward from the interior of the needle cylinder,

' Fig. 7, a detail of a clamp and cutter used 1n the machine,

Fig. 8, an elevation showing a trick wheel and related parts, and i Fig. 9, a plan of the same.

In the drawings, reference character 10 lndicates an ordinary needle cylinder slotted to receive needles 12. For the purposes of this invention an extension 13 is located between the needle cylinder. and the table 14 of the machine. An elongated cam ring 15 surrounds the needle cylinder, this cam ring being secured to the ring gear 16 asusual and being U-shaped in vertical section. A dial 17 is located at the upper end of the needle cylinder and provides a slotted bed for needles 18 which are actuated by cams on a cam cap 19.

The cylinder cams on the cam ring 15 are illustrated in Fig. 6 and include at each feed a needle advancing cam 20, a stitch cam 21, a needle raising cam 22, a needle lowering cam 23 and conventional guard'cams. At one point in the circumference of the machine, there is also a special latch clearing cam 24.- and a cast off cam 25.

In the present embodiment of the-invention, I have illustrated a machine with eight feeds. The feeds at 1, 3, 5 and 7 are plain feeds at which ribbed fabric is formed by cooperation of the dial and cylinder needles at certain stages of the operation of the machine, while at other stages no fabric is formed, both sets of needles being held at the welt position where no yarn is taken by them. At feeds 2, 4, 6 and 8, the needles may also cooperate to make ribbed fabric and the control mechanism is such that either the dial needles or the cylinder needles may be put out of action while the other set knits, the idle needles being held at the welt position, or both sets may be means for the various sets of M held idle at the welt position, as determined 1 also moved to welt position.

by the pattern mechanism.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the needle advancing cylinder cams are pivoted on the cam ring at 26 and each of such cams is connected by an individual pin 27 to a vertically movable rod 28 (Flg. 2). The rod 28 in Fig. 1 is elevated to hold the cam 20 in the solid line position shown at the right in Fig. 6, the welt position of the cam being illustrated at the middle of said figure in dotted; lines. A laterally extending finger 29 at the upper end of the rod has an opening through which passes a screw 30. A coil spring 31 is held b the screw in position to force the nger downward, thereby forcing down the rod 28 and the cam 20 toward the dotted line position. For elevating the cam 20 to the.

solid line position of Fig. 6, a pin 32 on the rod 28 projects out over a cam face 33 on a block 34 (Figs. 1 and 3), held in clamping engagement with a rock shaft 35 by a screw 36. The rock shaft 35 is journaled in the flanges of the U shaped cam ring and is provided at its lower end with a pinion 37 while at an intermediate level it is provided with a rockarm 38 forming an abutment for operation of its rockshaft by pattern mechanisms to be described. It will be seen that oscillation of the rockshaft 35 in one direction will move the cam face 33 underneath the pin 32 to elevate the pin and bring the same up on the fiat part of the block, while oscillation in the opposite direction will carry the block and its cam face out from underneath said pin. A rockshaft 39 located adjacent to roekshaft 35, also carries an abutment 40 and at its lower end is provided with a pinion 39' meshing with pinion 37, so that a rotation of either rockshaft will turn the other in the contrary direction thereby enabling the pattern mechanism, hereinafter described, to actuate the parts so as to lower the cam 20 or to raise it according to which of the two abutments 38 and 40 is actuated thereby.

At a plain feed such as that illustrated in Fig. 3, when a cylinder cam is moved to welt position the corresponding dial cam is Such a dial cam is shown in Fig. 2 at 41, the solid line position being the needle advancing position and the dotted line position'being the welt position. A spring serves to move the dial cam 41 toward the welt position. For moving it in the contrary direction, the cam is provided with a pin 43 extending up through the cam cap 19 and connected to a link 44. The link 44 is bent downward at its outer end as shown in Fig. 1 and is provided with an adjusting screw 45 which bears against' the periphery of a cam 46, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This cam 46 is clamped to rod 35 by means of a screw 47 and it will be seen that when the rod 35. is moved so as to enter its cam '35 underneath the pin 32 and so to lift the cam 20 into a needle advancing position, the cam 46 will engage with its hlgh point against the screw 45 to. bring the dial cam 41 into needle advancing position also, while oscillation of the rod '35 in the opposite direction will bring both the cylinder cam 20 and the dial cam 41 into welt osition where neither the cylinder or the dial needles will be advanced to take yarn. The dial cam cap is provided with the usual stitch cams 48, etc., all as usual in machines of this type.

The use of my attachment makes movable yarn guides superfluous, fixed yarn guides being sufficient since the needles, when inactive, are held at the welt position where they do not take the yarn in any event. To take care of the floating yarn at an idle feed .I provide means comprising a clamp and cutter indicated at 50 in Figs. 2 and 7, said device being supported on a table 51 by means of posts 52 on the cam ring. Th1s device normally stands open and is closed when a feed is thrown out. The blades of the clamp and cutter are held together by a spring 53 and are closed by means comprising a link 54 engaged at one end with the clamp and cutter and at the other end with a rockarm 55 fixed to a rockshaft 56 (Figs. 2 and This rock shaft 56 is provided at its lower end with a pinion 57 and at an intermediate point with an abutment 58. A short post 59 journaled in the upper and lower flanges of the cam ring 15 has at its lower end a pinion 60 meshing with pinion 57 and near its upper end has an abutment 61 in the form of an oscillating rockarm similar to those at 58, 38 and 40. It will be seen that actuation of rockarm 58 toward the left in Fig. 3 closes the clamp and cutter to cut ofi the yarn and hold it while actuation of the rockarm 61 in the same directionopens the clamp and cutter. To the left of the I plain feed in Fig. 2, I have indicated controlling means for the latch clearing cam 24 which clears the latches on the cylinder needles, after which the needles knit off their stitches at cam 25 in Fig. 6 and are then raised by cam 20 to take yarn again. This cam 24 is secured to the lower end of a post 62 having thereon a pin 63, said post being held down by a laterally extending arm 64 (Fig. 3) on which rests a coil spring 65 surrounding a screw 66. A block 67 is clamped to a rockshaft 68 by a screw 69 and said block has a cam face at 70 adapted to engage the pin 63 to elevate the rod 64 and so move the cam 24 to its dotted line or latch-clearing position. The rockshaft 68 has at its lower end a pinion 71 meshing with a pinion 72 on a rockshaft 73, said arm to oscillate the rockshaft 68 in one direction and another element; may engage the other arm to oscillate the rockshaft 68 in the contrary direction. Manual adjusting means for a stitch cam is indicated at 76 (Fig. 2) but this forms no part of the. invention herein claimed.

In the case of feeds 2, 4, 6 and 8 the needle advancing cams in the dial and cylinder can be put into and out of operative position either simultaneously or independently, it being understood that such cams are moved into the welt osition at a feed simultaneously for sucii purposes as changing the pattern of stripes in a fabric having horizontal (or circumferential) stripes, while independent movement of such cams to welting position may be for the pur ose of making a selvage welt at predetermined times with a pull thread as commonly used in the case of string work for separating successive units of a tubular fabric.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, Fig. 2 shows at the left side a plan of cams and controlling means therefor at a feed where the needle advancing cams in the cylinder and dial are independently controlled, and.

Fig. 4 shows an elevation of the same. The dial cam 41 and the cylinder cam 20 are or may be exactly like those at the plain feed hereinbefore described, the cylinder cambeing pivoted to the cam ring at 26 and having a pin 27 pivotally connecting the cam to a post having an arm 78 held down by a spring 7 9 surrounding a screw 80. The post is provided with a pin 81 adapted to ride on a cam face 82 of a block held in clamping engagement with a sleeve 83 (Fig. 4) by means of a screw 84, whereby movement 0 the cam face 82 in one direction lifts the pin 81 to elevate the cylinder needle advancing cam 20 into operative position against the action of spring 79, while movement of the sleeve 83in the' opposite direction permits the springs 79 to move cam 20 to welt position. The sleeve 83 encircles a rockshaft 85 and is provided below the upper flange of the cam ring with an abutment in the shape of a rock arm 86 on a block clamped to the sleeve by means of a screw 87. The sleeve 83 also has a pinion 88 se cured thereto which pinion meshes with a pinion 89 on a parallel sleeve 90 encircling a rockshaft 91. The sleeve 90 has secured thereto an abutment in the form of a rockarm 92 forming part of a block clamped to sleeve 90 by a screw 93.

Rockshaft 91 has secured thereto at its lower end a pinion 94 meshing with a pinion 95 on the rockshaft 85 which rockshaft carries an abutment 96 in the form of a rockarm integral with a collar secured to the rockshaft by a pin 97. In similar manner a rockarm 98 is secured to the rockshaft 91. At its upper end the rockshaft 85 is rovided with a cam 99 forming part-of a b ock clamped to the rock shaft 85 by a screw 100.

The cam is adapted to act against a set screw 101 secured in the downwardly bent outer end of a link 102 which is (generally similar to thelink 44 (Fig. 1), sai link being held down on the rock shaft by the collar 103 pinned thereto. At its inner end the link is connected to a pin 104 on the dial needle advancing cam 41, to which pin is also connected a spring'105 biased to move said cam into welt position.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the cylinder cam 20 can be moved into knitting position by actuation of the abutment 92 on the sleeve 90 which serves to oscillate sleeve 90 and through the pinions 89, 88'

also to oscillate the sleeve 83 in a direction to move its cam face underneath the pin 81 until such pin rests on the flat upper face of the cam block. For bringing the cam 20 into welt position the abutment 86 must be actuated, so as to turn the same toward the left in Fig. 4 and thus allow the pin 81 to ride down to the upper level of the cam the left in Fig. 4 serving to move the dial.

cam 41 into the operative position shown in Fig. 2 where the cam on rockshaft 85 has its high point bearing against screw 101, while movement of abutment 98 to the left serves through the connection of pinions 94 and 95 to oscillate rock shaft 85 to the right, carrying the high point of its cam away from screw 101 and permitting the spring 105 to move the dial cam 41 into welt position.

, It is necessary to cut and clamp the yarn when any one of the feeds at 2, 4, 6 and 8 in Fig. 5 is thrown out, and for this purpose cutting and clamping means is provided as at the right in Fig. 2, only so much of this being illustrated in Fig. 2 as is necessary for indicating the operation of said cutting and clamping means. Obviously the clamp and cutter must not be actuated when only the dial needle advancing cam is moved to welt position as in makin a selvage welt, at which time the cylin er needles only remain in action at one or more feeds. The abutments 106 and 107 on the respective rockshafts 108 and 109 are therefore so positioned as not to operate the clamp and cutter when the cam 41 is moved to welt position. These rock shafts are connected by pinions 110 and 111 and'rockshaft 108 has at its upper end an arm 112 similar in construction and function to rockarm 55 in Fig. 3.

When a selvage welt is to be made it is necessar that the stitch cam 21 at the cor- IGSPOIIdIII feed be moved to a special abnormally low level since the length of the stitches is not now determined by drawing them over the dial needles, which are now idle. The length of the stitches on the contrary is now determined by the position of the cylinder verge with reference to the lowest point to which the needles are drawn by the stitch cam, and for this reason I provide means for abnormally depressing the stitch cam, such means comprising a post 113 to which the stitch cam is secured and a plate 114 having a cam face 115 for engage ment by a screw 116carried by a rock arm 117 on a post 118, the rockarm being clamped to the post by a screw 119. .The post 118 also has an abutment 120 secured thereto and has at its lower end a pinion 121 meshing with a pinion 122 on a post 123. It will be seen that oscillation of the rockarm 120 to the left in Fig. 4 will oscillate the post 118 and its rockarm 117 so as to move the screw 116 over the cam face 115 and force the post 113 downward wit h its stitch cam so as to elongate the cylinder stitches during the welting operation. Qscillation of a rockarm 124 on post 123 will act through the pinions 121, 122 to move the aforesaid parts in the contrary direction whereby a spring 125 will return post 113 and its stitch cam to normal knitting position.

The machine herein illustrated, as above mentioned, has eight feeds though it will be understood that my mechanism can readily be adapted for use with a greater number 01' a smaller number. In order that a strictly selective control may be had for each' of these feeds, including individual control for cylinder and dialcams at certain of the feeds, the number of operating levels for the pattern mechanism employed is determined as follows:

' In the first place each of the plain feeds requires two levels, one of these being that in which abutments 38 and 61 are located in Figs. 3 and 5 and the other being that at which abutments 40 and 58 are located. This, as previously described, permits simultaneous movement of the needle advancing cams of the dial and cylinder cams to welt position or to knitting position. There being four such plain feeds, eight operating levels will be required for controlling said feeds.

There are four other feeds and each of them requires controlling means at four different levels as will be seen in Fig. 4 and at feed 2 in Fig. 5, i. e., sixteen operating levels are re uired for these feeds.

At t e feeds 2, 4, 6 and 8 if a feed is to be thrown out, both the needle-advancing cams for this feed must be moved to welt position, i. e., pattern elements must operate on abutments 86 and 98 to cause such movement to take place. A

ment 106 to operate the clamp and cutter and this feed is now thrown out of action, as

to omit a stripe. When abutment 98 is actuated abutment 120 will also be actuated to force the stitch cam21 down, but as the needles are not knitting at this time, but are merely holding their loops, this does not matter. When knitting is to be resumed pattern elements at two other levels actuate respectively the abutments 92 and 107 and abutments 96 and 124. The first two are operated by a attern element at one level to return the cylinder needle cam to knitting position and to open the clamp and .cutter, while the other two] are operated by a pattern element at another level to return the dial cam to knitting position and to return the stitch cam 21 to normal elevation, making four necessary levels. By providing pattern elements at proper points, such an element can engage only abutments 98 and 120 to allow the dial cam 41' to go to welt position and at the same time to lower the stitch cam for lengthening the cylinder stitches, and thereafter another pattern element will engage abutments 96 and 124 to return the dial cam 41' to action and to return the cylinder stitch cam 21 to normal elevation. In addition to the foregoing I rovide in advance of one of the even-numred feeds controlling means for the latchclearin cam 24, such means including abutments 4 and 75 which require two more levels on the pattern mechanism or 26 levels in all for an eight feed machine wherein welting is done at one feed only, i. e., the trick wheel 129 hereinafter described must have not less than 26 butts or annular series of butts located at difierent levels, there being about 40 tricks in the wheel.

The preferred pattern mechanism comprises a trick wheel 126 (Figs. 1, 8 and 9) which may be in detail similar to that shown in Ames Patent N 0. 1,722,989. The trick wheel is mounted on a vertical shaft 127 parallel to the axis of the needle cylinder and is provided with removable strip-like elements or tricks 128 having frangible butts 129 which'may be broken out according to the desired pattern. Levers 130 are pivotally supported between the trick wheel and attern element that actuates abutment 86 W111 also actuate abut-,

the knitting head, said levers having protom of the stack has a projection 131 for engagement in the notches between the tricks to hold the wheel in position for correct ongagement of trick butts with the lugs 131 of the other levers. It will be obvious that as the knitting head revolves these rockarmsare successively brought into position to engagelugs 132 after such lugs have been moved into operative position by engagement of butts on the trick wheel with the lugs 131 on the levers 132. A comb for guiding the levers is shown at 133 and springs for holding them against the trickwheels are shown at 134. K

For rotating the trick wheel I haveprovided means comprising a single cam 135 (Fig. 9) on .the cam ring and a lever 136 pivoted at 137, said lever having a roller at 138 for engagement with the cam 135 at,

each rotation of the cam ring and coacting parts. A link 139 is attached to the free end of the lever 136 and has secured thereto a slide 140 mounted in guides 140'. At an intermediate point the ever 136 carries a pawl 141 for engagement with a ratchet 142 to which is secured a sprocket 143 over which a pattern chain 144 runs, said pattern chain having high plates 145 on certain of its links to tilt a follower 146 about its pivot 147. The slide also has secured thereto a block 148 which block has three, openings 150 to receive a pin 150 adapted to extend into a slot at 151 on a rockarm 152 socured to a rockshaft 153. This rockshaft also carries a rockarm 154 bearing a pawl 155 held by a spring 156 in engagement with ratchet teeth at 157 (Fig. 8) on the trick wheel. It will be seen that the pawl normally turns the ratchet wheel one tooth at each rotation-of the lmitting head. For intermitting such action I provide on the shaft 147 (Fig. 8) a rockarm 158 to which is attached a link 159 connected to a bent lever 160. The upper arm of this lever is con nected to a link 161 and is biased to move in clock-wise direction in Fig. 8 by a spring 162. The free end of link 161 is attached to a shield 163 and it will be seen that when follower 146 is on a high point of the chain the shield will be drawn forward so as to cover the teeth of the ratchet 157 which otherwise would be engaged by pawl 156 so that the trick wheel w1ll be stationary until the ratchet 142 has been turned the necessary distance to release the follower 146.

It should be noted that Fig. 5 shows the abutments for the various feeds in a desirable relation, wherein each abutment is progressively higher (or lower) than the next previous abutment i. e., they are arranged in a gradually ascending (or descending) series about the machine, except as in certain of the roups two or more abutments are arranged at the same level. This renders it possible to exert a selective action on a cam or cams at any one of the feeds without necessarily affecting any other, feed though it will be understood that abutments in two or more of the groups may be actuated in a revolution of the machine as will frequently prove desirable. It should also be noted that a circumferential row of butts may include a butt for each trick so that there may be a rowaround the wheel comprising forty trick butts r as many as there are tricks and that eacht ick, in the embodiment illustrated, will have originally twentysix butts. 'Undesired butts are broken out usually by holding a punch or like tool against a butt on a "trick which is clamped in a vise and then lightly tapping the punch with a hammer. This may be done at the factory before the machine is shipped but ordinarily is done at the mill in accor ance with the desired pattern to be made or in accordance with the desired operation to be performed by the machine.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of my invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a dial and cylinder knitting machine, a knitting head including stationary needle beds, needles therein, revolving needle cams comprising a plurality of sets corresponding to the number of yarn feeds in the machine, a pattern device on a stationary part of the machine adjacent the knitting head, said device having a plurality of operating levels at different heights relative to said knitting head, means revolving with said needle cams including rockarms at different heights on the knitting head said arms being operatively connected to the respected needle cams, and transmitting means between each rockarm and an individual operating level of said pattern device.

2. A device as in claim 1, including means for selectively moving cylinder and dial needle advancing cams at a feed simultaneously to welt position.

3. device as in claim 1, including means for moving a dialneedle advancing cam to welt position while leaving the corresponding cylinder cam at knitting level and at the same time moving a cylinder stitch cam at the same feed to an abnormally low position for maintaining normal stitch length on the cylinder needles.

4. A device as in claim 1, including a clamp and cutter for an idle yarn, and means operated by said pattern device for actuating the same to cut and clamp a yarn when the needle advancing cams at said feed are put .out of action. I

5. A device as in claim 1, including a clamp and cutter for an idle am, and means operated by said pattern device for actuating said clamp and cutter.

6. A device as in claim 1, including a cylinder needle elevating cam, means for moving a dial-needle advancing cam to welt position while. leaving the corresponding cylinder cam at knitting level, and means for raising the first-named cylinder needle cam to latch-clearing position.

7. In a dial and cylinder knitting machine, a knitting head including stationar needle beds, needles therein, revolving nee le cams comprising a plurality of sets corresponding to the number of yarn feeds in the machine, a pattern device on a stationary part of the machine said device being movable about a vertical axis and having a plurality of series of abutments at different heights thereon, means revolving with said needle cams including rockarms at different levels connected to individual cams, and means operable by each series of abutments on the pattern device for controlling rockarms at a predetermined level to vary the position of the corresponding needle cams.

8. In a cylinder rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside stationary dial, revolving cams for the c linder and for the dial, a plurality of feeds on said revolving cams each feed including a movable cylinder needle advancing cam and a movable dial needle advancing cam, means at certain feeds for moving both of said advancing cams at those feeds simultaneously, and means for moving the advancing cams individually at other feeds.

9. In a multiple feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside stationary dial, revolving cams comprising a movable cylinder needle advancing cam and a movable dial needle advancing cam for each feed, and means for selectively moving either the cylinder needle advancing cam or the dial needle advancing cam at a feed or for moving both of said cams at any feed simultaneously.

10. Ina multiple feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside stationary dial, revolving cams comprising a movable cylinder needle advancing cam anda corresponding movable dial needle advancing cam for each feed, and means for simultaneously selectively moving the cylinder and the dial advancing cams of any feed to inoperative position to throw out the feed for striping purposes or back to operative position.

11. In a multiple feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside dial, a plurality of movable cylinder needle advancing cams, a like plurality of movable dial needle advancing cams, and means for selectively moving said needle advancing cams from operative to an inoperative position or vice versa so as to selectively throw out the feeds.

12. In a multiple feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside dial, and needle cam mechanism including'a cam ring provided'with needle cams for a plurality of feeds said cam ring having a U-shaped cross-section, control means for the feeds located at progresively varying levels between the flanges of the U-shaped cam ring, and means for throwing the needle cams at any one of the feeds either into or out of action.

13. In a multiple feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside needle dial, needle cam mechanism comprising a revolving ring carrying needle cams for a plurality of feeds said cam ring extending abnormally below the needle cylinder to provide operative levels for the plurality of feeds, and means for throwing any feed either into or out of action.

14. In a multiple'feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside stationary dial and revolving needle cams for a pluralit of feeds, control means for the cams at sai feeds said control means for each feed being at a different level, and automatic means for selectively throwing any of said cams either into or out ofaction.

15. In a multiple'feed circular rib knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, an inside stationary dial, revolving needle cams for a plurality of feeds, and automatic means for selectively throwing the cams at any one of said feeds either into or out of action.

16. In a multiple feed circular knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, a stationary dial, revolvin cams including an adjustable dial cam an an adjustable needle cam for each of a plurality of feeds, controlling means for said cams including outwardly projecting rockarms at progressively varying vertical heights, a pattern element moving about an axis parallel to that of said needle cams, pattern indications at various Heights on said pattern device, and connections between the pattern device and said rockarms for operating the respective rockarm by means of pattern indications at corresponding levels.

17. In a multiple feed circular knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, a stationary dial, revolving cams including an adjustable dial cam and an adjustable needle cam for each of a plurality of feeds, controlling means for the feeds located at levels varying progressively about the machine, and automatic means for selectively varying the action of said cams through said control means.

18. In a multiple feed rib knitting machine, stationary needle beds, coacting needles therein, sets of needle cams movable along said needle beds, a fixedv yarn guide moving with each set of needle cams, yarn cutting and clamping means also movable therewith, pattern means movable about a fixed axis and having pattern indications at different levels, and control means at various levels for the needle cams and the yarn cutting and clamping means, said control means being operatively related to pattern indications at correspondin levels.

19. In a multiple i eed dial and cylinder knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, a stationary dial, a set of revolving needle advancing cams for each feed movable to knitting and welt positions, a fixed yarn guide for each feed revolving with the corresponding set of needle cams, yarn cutting and clamping means adjacent to each yarn guide, control means for the needle advancing cams and the yarn cutting and clamping means, and pattern mechanism acting on said control means to cause the yarn at a feed to be cut and clamped when both the cylinder and the dial needle advancing cam are moved to welt position.

20. A device as in claim 19, said control means including abutments at different levels, and said pattern mechanism including pattern indications at correspondingly different levels, and operative connections between the respective control means and the correspondingly located pattern indications.

21. In a multiple feed dial and cylinder knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, a stationary dial, a set of revolving needle advancing cams for each feed movable to knitting and welt positions, a fixed yarn guide for each feed revolving with the corresponding set of needle cams, am cutting and clamping means adjacen to each yarn guide, control means for the needle advancing cams and the yarn cutting and clamping means, pattern mechanism for acting on said control means to move the cylinder and dial cams independently to welt position, said attern mechanism also including means or moving both cylinder and dial cams at a feed to welt position and simultaneously cutting andv clamping the yarn at said feed.

22. A device as in claim 21, said control means including abutments at different levels, and said pattern mechanism includin pattern indications at correspondingly di ferent levels, and operative connections between the respective control means and the correspondingly located pattern indications. 23. In a multiple feed knitting machine, a stationary needle cylinder, a revolving cam ring having a plurality of feeds each including a movable needle cam, a pattern device 

